Today’s Daily News & Notes from around the college basketball coaching world…
Sad news to report, as Bryant & Stratton (Albany) head men’s basketball coach Pat Filien has passed away. Before taking over at BSC, Filien served as a D1 assistant on the men’s side at Vermont and Albany, and on the women’s side at Air Force and UMKC. More from the Times Union HERE. A Go Fund Me to help support Coach Filien’s wife and children can be found HERE.
East Carolina head coach Joe Dooley’s 200th win at East Carolina was a memorable one. His Pirates beat #5 Houston 82-73 earlier this week giving him the milestone victory – it was also the first-ever win for the Pirates vs a Top 5 team. More on the historic win HERE.
D3 Oswego State’s Jason Leone was named the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Men’s Basketball Coach of the Decade as announced by the conference office. Leone posted an overall record of 181-75 (.707) in helping Oswego to the highest winning percentage, most total wins, and most NCAA Division III Championship appearances when compared to every other team in the NABC East Region during the entire decade. More HERE.
Good article from the Minnesota StarTribune about the recent losses of John Chaney and John Thompson: “Losing both legends in the last six months is a somber moment for the sports world and for the long line of coaches who benefited from the path they paved in their sport.” More HERE.
Kentucky is struggling on the court, but don’t expect them to make a change in the off-season. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Mark Story, it would cost Kentucky $52.5 million to remove John Calipari without cause if the university wanted to make a change after the current season. More on this one HERE. Also, a PDF of Calipari’s complete contract can be found HERE.
Baylor head coach Scott Drew announced that the next two Bears men’s basketball games have been postponed due to the Big 12 Conference men’s basketball interruption guidelines. Drew’s No. 2-ranked squad was scheduled to host TCU Saturday and play a road game at Oklahoma on Wednesday. More HERE.
On Wednesday, the NCAA canceled the D3 basketball tournament (and all winter championships) due to lack of participation this season. According the NCAA 48.6% of men’s basketball teams and 46.2% of women’s basketball teams are playing, but that doesn’t reach the 60% threshold they set to hold a championship. Yesterday, we ran a quick (unscientific) TWITTER POLL to gauge reaction to this one. 74.2% of respondents thought this was not the right call, while 25.8% agreed with the NCAA’s decision.
Buzzer Beater of the Day….
The Week 10 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Award winners were announced on Monday The complete list of winners can be found HERE. Nominations for the week 10 award can be sent to: [email protected]. Deadline is Sunday at 5pm.
